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The whole Genfest experience – from ‘Phase 1’ to ‘Phase 3’ – is a tangible witness that you young people believe in, and indeed you are already working, to build a united world. These were days of extraordinary graces for all of us; we put ”care” into practice in various ways: – in Phase 1, through service to the poor, the marginalised, those who suffer most, and we have done this by living reciprocity, the typical way of living communion of the charism of the Focolare Movement; – in Phase 2, in sharing life, experiences and cultural riches; – and then, in Phase 3, we have experienced the extraordinary generativity of communities, which are also an intergenerational space for formation and projects.
Someone told me about the creativity that each community has developed and the interesting workshops in which you have participated (which you just told me about).
“From Genfest I take my community home with me,” one of you said, “it is something practical that continues. A chance to live the Genfest experience on a daily basis’.
You felt that you were protagonists in the construction of these communities, and you want to continue to “generate” ideas and projects. It has given me joy to know that some of you have said that you have rediscovered the meaning of your profession, and that you now want to live it in the name of a united world.
We have walked together during these days, with a style that Pope Francis would call ‘synodal’ and not only among you, young people, but with adults; with people from other movements and communities; with people from different Churches and Religions and people who do not identify with a religious belief. This network greatly enriched the Genfest!
The presence of some bishops who experienced Genfest together with us was also very beautiful.
Now Genfest does not end! But it continues in the United World Communities where we will remain connected both globally and locally
I am sure that when you arrive in your countries and cities, you will understand where you would like to get involved, according to your interests and your studies or your professions: in economics, intercultural dialogue, peace, health, in politics etc.
In these days you have had the experience of living these “communities” in “unity”; a reality that will continue. This will be your training ground in which you will learn and you will train to live fraternity.
When I was your age, I was very struck by an invitation Chiara Lubich made to everyone:
“If we are one, many will be one and the world will one day be able to see unity. And so? Establish cells of unity everywhere” (1) – perhaps Chiara, if she were alive today, would call these cells of unity, “United world communities” – she invited us to concentrate all our efforts in this.
That is why now, I would like to ask you something important: please, please do not miss this unique opportunity, it’s a unique opportunity that we have lived here. God has knocked on the door of the heart of each one of us, and is now calling you all to be protagonists and bearers of unity in the various spheres in which you are engaged.
Yesterday as I was leaving, someone stopped me, one of you who was here in the hall, and said I have to tell you something, please can I tell you something important. She said it was the first time she had participated in a Genfest and she didn’t know the Focolare Movement, and she said: “I want to tell you, you should do much more because this movement isn’t well known, you should do more but not as you have been doing up to now, you need to do more because this Movement, this idea of fraternity, needs to be known by many more young people.” So I asked her if she could help us and she wants to commit herself. But now I hope that all of us are committing ourselves to doing this.
Of course, as you heard before, it will not all be easy and we cannot deceive ourselves that difficulties will not come… but in this Genfest you yourselves have announced: ‘a God who is different, abandoned on the cross, you have said abandoned on the cross, all divine and all human, asking questions without answers’ and for this, a God who is close to all of us. It will be by embracing every suffering, our own or that of others, that we will find the strength to continue on this path.
So let us go forward together with a new hope, convinced more than ever that a path has now been mapped out.
And, something beautiful that the Chinese writer, Yutang Lin, says: “Hope is like a road through a field; there has never been a road, but when many people walk there, the road comes into existence”. I think that in this Genfest, this road has begun to exist, So, let’s walk, and this road will be there in front of us.
So I greet everyone, have a wonderful time to those of you who will be attending the post-Genfest and safe travels to those returning home!
Ciao to everyone.
Margaret Karram
(1) Chiara Lubich, Conversazioni in collegamento telefonico, Città Nuova, 2019, p. 64.
The third phase of Genfest 2024, held in Aparecida, Brazil, included workshops organized by so-called United World Communities – meeting places where young people can share their talents and passions. These communities offer the opportunity to discover talented people, concrete forms of commitment and initiate actions and projects aimed at building a more united world, which seek to respond to the local and global challenges of today’s world; to activate processes of personal and collective change; and to grow fraternity and reciprocity in all dimensions of human life. An important feature of these communitites is that they are the fruits of work between people of different generations.
Continuing the experiences of the previous phases of Genfest, in this third phase the youth were able to participate in workshops in different areas, whose methodology was based on fraternity and dialogue, as a proof for projects and actions that can now be developed in the “glocal” sphere (local projects with a global perspective). Activities were held in the areas of economics and work, cross-culture and dialogue, spirituality and human rights, health and ecology, art and social engagement, education and research, communication and media, and active citizenship and politics. The teams responsible for running the workshops were composed of young people and professionals who worked intensively for months to organize these activities.
From now on, Communities will have a working method that consists of three steps: Learning, Acting, and Sharing. The first (to Learn) is an in-depth exploration and analysis of the most current themes and issues in each community, with the goal of identifying problems and presenting solutions. The next phase (Take Action) is the implementation of actions with primarily local impact, but with a global perspective. Finally, in the third phase (Sharing), it is proposed that the community promote spaces for ongoing exchange and dialogue between initiatives, with the aim of strengthening the global collaboration network. An application-the United World Communities WebApp, -has been created as a tool for sharing ideas, experiences and news, as well as promoting collaborative projects.
“God has visited everyone’s heart.”
Al termine della terza fase del Genfest, le Communities hanno presentato in modo creativo le loro impressioni e alcuni dei risultati delle attività svolte nei giorni precedenti. Da questo lavoro è nato il documento “The United World Community: One Family, One Common Home”, che sarà il contributo dei partecipanti del Genfest 2024 al “Summit of the Future” delle Nazioni Unite del prossimo settembre. Secondo i giovani che hanno presentato il testo, esso non è un documento conclusivo, ma vuole essere un “programma di vita e di lavoro” per le varie United World Communities, oltre che una testimonianza da presentare al “Summit of the Future”.
“With our communities we don’t want to make demands, formulate slogans or complain about political leaders,” the young people said. “Instead, we seek to name our common dreams, dreams of a united world. Personal and communal dreams, which will guide us in our activities in the coming years.” They concluded, “We hope that by living them, ‘together’ and step by step, they will become signs of hope for others.”
Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement, also spoke at the conclusion of Genfest 2024. Jesús Morán said that although the experience of care has been the most lived experience in human history, it is not the one that has been reflected on the most.
This has begun to change, as was demonstrated at the Genfest, in which care emerged as a response to the need for human dignity. In this sense, he concluded, it is important that young people remain connected to this global network of generative communities. Margaret Karram, for her part, said she has seen throughout the Genfest experience that young people have given tangible witness to their faith and are already in action to build a united world. Regarding Phase 3 in particular, she emphasized the richness of this experience because of its creativity, intergenerational and intercultural imprint, and the fact that, through the communities, there is a concrete possibility of living the same Genfest experience in one’s daily life. She concluded by calling on the young people to be the protagonists of these communities, the foundation of which is unity. “Please do not miss this unique opportunity that we are experiencing here: God has visited the heart of each of us and is now calling everyone to be protagonists and bearers of unity in the various areas in which they are involved”.
The Focolare Movement received the “I do my part” international award from the Kronos Academy for its commitment in favour of our planet through its ecological initiative by EcoOne. Pope Francis and Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian explorer and anthropologist are also among the winners of the 2020 edition. The latter received the award posthumously.An old African tale relates that during a forest fire a hummingbird, the smallest of birds, flew towards the fire while all other animals fled away from it. When the lion asked the hummingbird about its behaviour, the bird with a drop of water on its beak, replied: “I’m doing my part!”. The international award, assigned by the Kronos Academy takes its name from this story. It has now reached its fourth edition, and it is rewarded annually to people, entities and nations that “do their part” in favour of the environment and the earth’s climate. Among the eight winners of this edition, there is also EcoOne, the Focolare international initiative promoted by a network of lecturers, academics, researchers and professionals who perform in environmental sciences and strive to enrich their scientific knowledge through a profound humanistic reading of contemporary ecological problems (www.ecoone.org). Due to the pandemic, the award ceremony could not be held, as scheduled, at the Protomoteca Hall of the Campidoglio in Rome. The Focolare Movement received its reward on Thursday, 26 November 2020, at its international headquarters in Rocca di Papa, Rome from Vincenzo Avalle, member of the National Board of the Kronos Academy, who was accompanied by Armando Bruni, the Coordinator for the Academy in Central Italy and three environmental officers. Prof. Luca Fiorani, President of EcoOne received the award on behalf of the Focolare Movement. He was presented with a sculpture of a hummingbird, made of recycled metal by the artist Renato Mancini, and an award certificate. “This award is meant to stimulate, to motivate all those who are committed to protect the environment”, explained Vincenzo Avalle, while he continued: “I was struck by the complex Focolare activity in favour of the environment as expressed by EcoOne, supported by science and interaction with politics”. When Fioriani received the award, he said: “I can see a great synergy between the Kronos Academy and the Focolare/EcoOne, because we are complementary: Kronos originates from action, EcoOne from reflection. We need one another. The Focolare Movement can contribute to different areas of cultural depth, especially economy and politics, both decisive for the environment. We can also offer our international experience”. He added: “I see a possibility of collaboration, of very strong synergy. There are so many entities that work for the environment. I think it’s time that all these organizations pool their work together”. The Kronos Academy (https://accademiakronos.it-html.com/) continues with the work and spirit of “Kronos 1991”, one of the first environmental organisations that was set up. With about 10,000 members in Italy and international offices and references, it is committed to protect the environment and quality of life. In collaboration with Scientific Institutes and Universities, Kronos offers a degree course for “Environmental Educator and Disseminator” and two masters degree courses in “Health and Environment”, and it supports a supervisory body for environmental prevention and information. But above all it invites people the world over to “do their part” to safeguard the environment.
It was the evening of 7 May 1995 at the international Centre inLoppiano (Italy). A group of people of various beliefs and cultural backgrounds were having a lively discussion at dinner. They had spent the entire day together to see whether they, as Catholics and agnostics, could overcome ideological limits, dislikes and century-old prejudices and get to understand, accept and appreciate one another. These gatherings of people who spoke different languages and professed various beliefs had started already in 1978 when Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement, set up the “Centre for Dialogue with People who hold No Religious Affiliations” within the scope of a more extensive experience initiated by the Focolare. The 7 May 2015 meeting in Loppiano was taken as an opportunity to take stock of this reality and a challenge to certify, face to face, if mutual esteem is really possible. Over the years, in fact, all have even become “friends,” and getting together and discussing with one another was considered not only stimulating but also very pleasant. At that dinner, however, someone was missing, one who perhaps was the most active in the group: Ugo Radica. This really special focolarino had decided to pursue an idea without notifying anybody and had gone to station himself close to the house of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Movement, who was supposed to arrive in Loppiano that evening. His patience was rewarded in the end when Chiara’s car finally came into view. Ugo approached the car, and Chiara, quite surprised, lowered the window to ask: «What are you doing here, Ugo? He firmly said: “I’m here with a group of friends of different beliefs. Why don’t you come to see us tomorrow? I think it would be very important for them to have an exchange of ideas with you personally.” Chiara accepted though unsure and a bit doubtful. She requested that the group prepare some questions for her to answer. Ugo thus returned to the group full of enthusiasm.
Chiara Lubich meets with the group in Loppiano, 7 May 1995
So the next day, 7 May 1995, Chiara Lubich spent half an hour with some of those who would later become the pillars of a really special and strong experience of dialogue between people who normally have a hard time talking to and appreciating one another. The so-called “fourth dialogue” of the Focolare Movement officially came into being during that half-hour, during which Chiara spoke to the small group about mutual respect, “non-proselytism” (an almost revolutionary concept in those times!), and mutual love that is possible between people of different beliefs and cultures. It was a new and engrossing experience to be cultivated and diffused with conviction and tenacity, given that the object of the Focolare movement is “That all may be one,” and without the agnostics, an essential and irreplaceable part of humanity would be missing.That evening, Tito, one of the friends who had turned up by chance at the last minute, phoned his wife, a genuine Catholic, and a long-time member of the Movement, to proudly announce to her that he had spoken to Chiara personally, while she in all those years still had not seen or had a glimpse of her even from afar. Twenty years later, on 7 May 2015 there was again a celebration in Loppiano. A nostalgic commemoration? Absolutely not. Armando, Morena, Tito, Dolores, Piero, Luciana, Roberto, Silvano and many more followed one another onstage to recall those moments, not only to assess the 20 years that have passed, but to also organize the next events. They are convinced, more than ever, of the importance of this type of dialogue. And unlike the moments of encounters between believers, one never knows how these “fourth dialogue” meetings can turn out. But precisely this fact is a warranty of authenticity, since each inevitably has to be fully and personally involved, ready to offer one’s ideas but also accept those of others through an intricate but fruitful exchange. This dialogue which has continued through the years, not without difficulties, has become international, and has reached many countries. Its diffusion and urgency was strongly felt as a pressing responsibility by those who attended the 2015 gathering. This lifestyle has to be actualised firstly among the members of the Movement, to be offered in turn, to all of humanity.
Belamy Paluku comes from Goma, but is in Belgium for three month. In his Country, Congo, he is a member of the group Gen Fuoco, a band whose message draws its inspiration from the spirituality of unity, and is responsible for the “Foyer culturel”, a cultural centre in his city. Thanks to his musical talent, the Wallonie-Bruxelles Centre offered him a scholarship to study singing at Verviers, in Belgium. Belamy is a songwriter, whose songs highlight the search for peace, dialogue, the value of suffering. His most popular song is entitled “Nos couleurs et nos saveurs” (Our colours and our flavours), which is an invitation to appreciate the different colours and tastes of the different peoples, because “a world with just one colour and with just one kind of food would be a very poor world”. In the video which we are presenting to you, there is the interview of this young Congolese musician and that of a young Belgian girl.
Belamy Paluku
Belamy, you are from Goma, in Congo. In this moment you are in Belgium for an intercultural exchange for your specialization as a musician. How do you feel in such a different world? «I discover many people of different origins and I realize that each one always has something to give and to receive from others. The diversities of cultures and languages cannot stop us from living together and communicating.» And you Elisabeth, you were born in Belgium, what do you think about this welcoming people who come from all over the world? «It’s true that in Europe, and especially here in Brussels, there is an immense richness of nationalities and different cultures. Personally I have met some young people of the Focolare Movement from Syria, Slovakia, Italy etc. And what always helped me is also the art of loving which concretely makes you take the step towards the other. But I think that living one next to the other is not enough, we can take an extra step. The challenge for us Europeans, who perhaps are rather reserved, is precisely to go and meet the other person and to build bridges until we all become one family, until we truly recognize one another as brothers and sisters.» Belamy, is it from this exchange of riches that you wrote a song? «I come from a region with a constant danger of war sparking off between ethnic groups. This exchange of human and cultural riches seems to me a way to be followed towards the fulfillment of a world of sharing and tolerance. I began from our differences so as to cry out to the world that remaining together, united, we can unfold the puzzle of humanity.» Belamy Paluku is on facebook as Belamusik (the cultural centre of Goma) (more…)
An old African tale relates that during a forest fire a hummingbird, the smallest of birds, flew towards the fire while all other animals fled away from it. When the lion asked the hummingbird about its behaviour, the bird with a drop of water on its beak, replied: “I’m doing my part!”. The international award, assigned by the Kronos Academy takes its name from this story. It has now reached its fourth edition, and it is rewarded annually to people, entities and nations that “do their part” in favour of the environment and the earth’s climate. Among the eight winners of this edition, there is also EcoOne, the Focolare international initiative promoted by a network of lecturers, academics, researchers and professionals who perform in environmental sciences and strive to enrich their scientific knowledge through a profound humanistic reading of contemporary ecological problems (
Due to the pandemic, the award ceremony could not be held, as scheduled, at the Protomoteca Hall of the Campidoglio in Rome. The Focolare Movement received its reward on Thursday, 26 November 2020, at its international headquarters in Rocca di Papa, Rome from Vincenzo Avalle, member of the National Board of the Kronos Academy, who was accompanied by Armando Bruni, the Coordinator for the Academy in Central Italy and three environmental officers. Prof. Luca Fiorani, President of EcoOne received the award on behalf of the Focolare Movement. He was presented with a sculpture of a hummingbird, made of recycled metal by the artist Renato Mancini, and an award certificate. “This award is meant to stimulate, to motivate all those who are committed to protect the environment”, explained Vincenzo Avalle, while he continued: “I was struck by the complex Focolare activity in favour of the environment as expressed by EcoOne, supported by science and interaction with politics”. 
